Conant v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

60 F. Supp. 3d 99, 2014 WL 3696444, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188318
District Court, District of Columbia·Decided July 25, 2014·No. Civil Action No. 2013-0572·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

*103 MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Terry Walter Conant (“Conant” or “Plaintiff’) brings this action pro se challenging the foreclosure of his property. Presently before the Court is the portion of Defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s [6] Motion to Dismiss' Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), 12(b)(5) and 12(b)(6) or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Rule 12(d) held in abeyance by this Court’s previous Memorandum Opinion and Order, as well as Plaintiffs [59] Motion for Leave to File Plaintiffs Amendment to Plaintiffs Original Complaint. Upon consideration of the parties’ submissions 1 , the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court issues the following rulings. The Court GRANTS the remainder of Defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s [6] Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), 12(b)(5) and 12(b)(6) or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Rule 12(d). In addition, Plaintiffs [59] Motion for Leave to File Plaintiffs Amendment to Plaintiffs Original Complaint is DENIED. All other pending motions in this case are DENIED AS MOOT. Accordingly, this action is DISMISSED in its entirety.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

In August 2007, Plaintiff borrowed $820,000,000 from World Savings Bank. *104 Compl., Ex. B (Deed of Trust). This loan was documented by an Adjustable Rate Note and secured by a deed of trust on property located at 2191 Lindenwood Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California. Id. In December 2007, World Savings Bank changed its name to Wachovia Mortgage, FSB. Wells Fargo MTD, Ex. B (World Savings Bank, FSB, Oakland, California, Notice of Amendment of Charter and Bylaws). In November 2009, Wachovia Mortgage, FSB changed its name to Wells Fargo Bank Southwest, N.A., and merged into Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo” or “Defendant”). Id., Ex. D (Application to convert Wachovia Mortgage, FSB, North Las Vegas, Nevada to a national bank and application to merge the converted bank with and into Wells Fargo Bank). In 2011, Plaintiff defaulted on his payments and Defendant Wells Fargo initiated non-judicial foreclosure proceedings. Id., Ex. F (Notice of Default and Election to Sell Under Deed of Trust). In August 2011, the foreclosure trustee, NDeX West, recorded a Notice of Default with the El Dorado County Recorder’s Office. Id. Plaintiff sought to delay this foreclosure with two prior court actions. First, Plaintiff filed a bankruptcy proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. See Conant v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 12-25594-A-13J (Bankr.N.D.Cal.). This bankruptcy proceeding was dismissed on May 22, 2012. Id., Ex. I (Order Closing Case Where Case Has Been Dismissed). Second, Plaintiff challenged Wells Fargo’s right to foreclose in a civil action in California state court before the El Dorado County Superior Court. See Conant v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. SC20120220 (Cal.Super.Ct.). This court sustained Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss but provided Plaintiff leave to amend. Id., Ex. L (Order Sustaining Defendants’ Demurrers, With Leave to Amend and Denying Application for a Temporary Restraining Order Without Prejudice). Plaintiff subsequently voluntarily dismissed this action. Id., Ex. M (Request for Dismissal).

The parties are in dispute as to whether Wells Fargo is the owner of Plaintiffs mortgage and has the right to foreclose on his home. Plaintiff argues that the note associated-with his mortgage has been sec-uritized and sold on a secondary mortgage market. See, e.g., Pl.’s Mot. to Portray at 1-2. As support for this position,'Plaintiff relies on a “Property Securitization Analysis Report” prepared by a company called Mortgage Compliance Investigators. Id., Ex. 2. This document contains a sworn affidavit from an individual named Damion Emholtz who states that he has researched Plaintiffs loan and determined that “the loan is an asset in the WORLD SAVINGS BANK REMIC 30. My research also shows that the loan was current in its status as a performing asset in this pool of mortgage-backed securities prior to going into foreclosure.” Id., Ex. 2 at 16.

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed the fifty-four page Complaint in this action on April 19, 2013, which generally challenged the propriety of the non-judicial foreclosure action against him by Defendant Wells Fargo and its agents. See generally Compl. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to stop the foreclosure action against him, as well as monetary damages in the event his Complaint is opposed. Compl. at 47-50. Read liberally, Plaintiffs fifty-four page Complaint appears to allege the following claims. First, Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants are in violation of the Consent Judgment entered into by Wells Fargo 'and several other banks in United States v. Bank of America Corp., et al., No. 12-0361 (D.D.C. Apr. 4, 2012). Second, Plaintiff alleges more generally that Wells Far *105 go is not the owner of his mortgage and is therefore improperly foreclosing on his home, in violation of various provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code. Id at 11. Third, and relatedly, Plaintiff alleges that Wells Fargo’s attempt at foreclosure constitutes fraud. Id at 32. Fourth, Plaintiff alleges that this foreclosure process constitutes a deprivation of his due process rights. Id at 37. Fifth, Plaintiff argues that in foreclosing on his home, Plaintiffs are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. 2 Sixth, Plaintiff alleges that the allegedly improper foreclosure process constitutes intentional infliction of emotional distress. Compl at 37-38, 46.

Defendants Wells Fargo; Anglin, Fle-welling, Rasmussen, Campbell & Trytten, LLP; LPS Agency Sales and Posting, Inc.; and NDeX West subsequently filed motions to dismiss, or in the alternative, motions for summary judgment. See Wells Fargo MTD; Def. LPS Agency Sales and Posting, Inc.’s Mot. to Dismiss Compl. & Incorporating Mem. of Law, ECF No; [9]; Def. NDeX West, LLC’s Mot. to Dismiss or in the Alternative, for Summ. J., ECF No. [35]. In addition to several motions not relevant here, Plaintiff filed a [14] Motion to Portray and Assert the Certified Securitization Audit, with Memorandum of Law. In this filing, Plaintiff again asserted that Wells Fargo was not the owner of his loan, but rather that the loan was securitized and sold on the secondary mortgage securities market. PL’s Mot. to Portray at 1-2. This filing included as an exhibit the “Property Secu-ritization Analysis Report” discussed above. In response to Plaintiffs filing, Defendants argued that Plaintiffs motion should be stricken as incomprehensible and irrelevant. Def.’s Opp’n to Pl.’s Mot. to Portray at 1-3.

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Conant v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 60 F. Supp. 3d 99, 2014 WL 3696444, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188318 (D.D.C. 2014).

60 F. Supp. 3d 99 (Conant v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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